Alex Pritchard

Alex David Pritchard (born 3 May 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for club Birmingham City.

He has represented England at U20 and U21 level.

Pritchard began his career in the academy at West Ham United, before transferring to the youth setup at Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur in June 2009.

Pritchard quickly established himself in the U18 team.

He received his maiden call into the first team squad for a UEFA Europa League group stage game versus PAOK on 15 September 2011.

Awarded the number 54 shirt, he remained on the bench for the 0–0 draw.

He was called up for another Europa League group match versus Rubin Kazan on 3 November, again remaining on the bench.

Pritchard made an impact in the 2011–12 NextGen Series, where he ended up top-scorer for Spurs with four goals, three of which came against the eventual winners Inter Milan.

Pritchard courted transfer interest from Premier League side Queens Park Rangers in April 2012.

Pritchard added another four goals in the 2012–13 edition of the NextGen Series, one of which came in a particularly notable 4–1 away victory against Barcelona, bringing his tally to eight goals in 11 NextGen Series appearances.

Following Pritchard's NextGen Series performances and with only half a year remaining on his contract, there was speculation that Spanish sides Real Madrid and Barcelona would attempt to sign him.

Pritchard also appeared for Tottenham's U21 team during the 2012–13 season, scoring five goals in 11 appearances to help the U21s to the U21 Premier League knockout stage final against Manchester United.

Pritchard scored Tottenham's second goal and was substituted after 64 minutes for Kenny McEvoy in the 3–2 defeat.

Liverpool (with Pritchard's former Tottenham U18 manager Alex Inglethorpe on their staff) were also reported to be interested, but Pritchard ended the speculation when he signed a new two-and-a-half-year deal with Spurs on 31 January 2013.

On 31 January 2013, Pritchard signed on loan with Championship side Peterborough United until the end of the 2012–13 season.

He had scored four goals for the Tottenham Development Squad in an 8–1 victory over Peterborough on 15 January.

Awarded the number 33 shirt, Pritchard was named on the bench for a league match versus Burnley two days later.

He made his professional debut when he replaced Nathaniel Knight-Percival after 55 minutes of the 1–0 defeat.

He came on again as a substitute in the following game against Leicester City, but lasted just 16 minutes before suffering torn ligaments in his ankle.

Pritchard returned to Tottenham Hotspur for treatment and didn't appear again for the Posh until a late cameo in a 3–2 victory over Watford on 13 April.

He made just six appearances for the club before returning to White Hart Lane at the end of the season.

On 9 July 2013, Pritchard joined League One side Swindon Town on a season long loan deal, linking up with fellow Tottenham loanees Massimo Luongo, Grant Hall, Ryan Mason and former teammates Nathan Byrne and Jack Barthram at the County Ground.

Wearing the number 11 shirt, Pritchard scored his first goal for the club on 27 August, in a 2–0 win against Queens Park Rangers in the League Cup second round.

Pritchard's form led to interest from Championship sides Huddersfield Town, Blackburn Rovers and League One leaders Wolverhampton Wanderers in January 2013.

Pritchard was sent off for the first time in his career in a league match versus Bristol City on 15 March, receiving a straight red card for a shove on Wade Elliott.

Earlier in the season, manager Mark Cooper stated that Pritchard would need to "curb his temper", after he picked up five bookings in seven league matches.

Pritchard won rave reviews for his performances during the season, receiving nominations for the League One Player of the Year and Football League Young Player of the Year awards.

Of the nominations, he said "I'm absolutely chuffed to be nominated, I've worked hard all season and with the amount of players of my age doing so well, it's great to get that recognition".

Pritchard was a key player for Swindon over the course of the 2013–14 season, making 44 appearances and scoring eight goals.

Looking back on his time with the Robins, Pritchard said "it was great for me to be playing first team football at Swindon this season, I needed to get out and play competitively and I loved every minute of it".

After spending the majority of the 2013–14 season out on loan, Pritchard received his first call into the first team squad in two-and-a-half years when he was named as a substitute for a Premier League match versus his former side West Ham United on 3 May 2014.

Allotted the number 39 shirt, he remained on the bench for the 2–0 defeat.

Pritchard was called up again for the final game of the season against Aston Villa and made his debut for the club when he replaced Gylfi Sigurðsson after 83 minutes of the 3–0 win.

After the match, he said "it was good to get my Spurs debut under my belt and to play alongside top quality players. It was a great way to finish the season and hopefully next year I can push on again and get even more game time".

After transfer interest from Wolverhampton Wanderers and Wigan Athletic, Pritchard signed for Championship side Brentford on a season-long loan on 17 July 2014.

Manager Mark Warburton (who helped create the now-defunct NextGen Series) said Pritchard "is very good tactically and technically with excellent dead ball delivery. He showed his quality while he was on loan at Swindon last year. Alex will add to the quality in our squad".

Pritchard scored two goals in a 3–2 pre-season friendly victory over Nice at Griffin Park on 26 July.

He made his competitive debut for the club on the opening day of the 2014–15 season, lasting 79 minutes of a 1–1 draw with Charlton Athletic before being replaced by Tommy Smith.

Pritchard scored his first competitive goal for the Bees with the equaliser in a 2–1 victory over Blackpool on 19 August.

On 21 August 2015, Pritchard agreed to a new four-year contract with Tottenham.